Framing Difficult Feedback for Parents

Summary: This article from Edutopia suggests ways to frame feedback to effectively communicate with parents. Some teachers use the idea of the "praise sandwich - surrounding the negative report with praise. The author here suggests a "bundle" approach which establishes what actually happened with value statements.

Source: Joe Hirsch, Edutopia, January 11, 2018

Description: “A standard approach is the praise sandwich or feedback sandwich, which attempts to sidestep blame, conflict, and hurt feelings by surrounding negative feedback with positive statements. After opening with praise (“Johnny is so energetic”), the teacher brings up a specific critique (“With all that energy, he can become quite disruptive in class”), and closes on a positive note (“But he adds so much to our learning community”)…. An alternative might look more like a bundle. Rather than buffering negative feedback with praise, teachers can offer direct feedback that comprises specific observations and value statements”